Judging the Australian Marmalade Awards

Judging the Australian Marmalade Awards

Over the past week, I have been in Adelaide judging the Australian Marmalade Awards, and the weather here is surprisingly cold!

We have had a wonderful time tasting and judging marmalade at Beaumont House, which is the National Trust Headquarters for South Australia. I’ve been a part of lots of radio interviews today. It was immense fun, and the staff at the radio stations are fantastic people to work with.

In Australia, they have an abundance of fresh fruit, which is key in making exceptional marmalades. It is a definite advantage for the Australian entrants who have it all readily available.

This year’s Marmalade Awards entries have included some more interesting fruits alongside the traditional, global favourite, the Seville Orange. The standards of this year’s competition were as good, if not better, than last year. I hope this trend for excellence continues next year too.

It was great to have Steven from Beerenberg lending his huge expertise to the judging panel. Our other judges also have great knowledge when it comes to preserves, so all the entrants can rest assured that their jar was given the full attention it deserves.

The results were top secret until Sunday, but they have now been announced! Congratulations to all our entrants; and special congratulations to Tarra Valley Foods, and Marika Freeman, our Double Gold winners in the Artisan, and Homemade categories respectively. The full list of winners can be found on the Australian National Trust website.

This year’s winning marmalades are absolutely superb. In my opinion, the world is all the richer for them.